Drones plan to bring young thugs to justice
DRONES could soon be used to follow home yobs bringing misery to our communities and make them face justice.
Councillors and members of the business community in Rochdale have backed plans by Greater Manchester Police to form a new drone unit being dubbed ‘bobbies in the sky’ - to tackle crime and anti-social behaviour.
The force is training officers to use eye-in-thesky technology to photograph offenders and track them to their home addresses, which could lead to evictions for wrongdoers.
Coun Richard Farnell, who represents Balderstone and Kirkholt on Rochdale council, said the drones could be effective in clamping down on the use of illegal motorbikes and quad bikes, which plague his ward.
“There’s a huge problem right across the borough with youths tearing up and down on illegal motorbikes and quad bikes,” he said.
“I’ve seen them racing through the streets on Kirkholt and through Balderstone Park where children are playing, but it’s almost impossible to catch them.
“These ‘bobbies in the sky’ could capture the evidence needed to confiscate and scrap these machines and put an end to this menace.”
Coun Patricia Sullivan, who represents Bamford, added: “We’ve had more robberies in Bamford in past weeks than in the whole time there.
“The police need to redirect their energies to what’s happening and these drones could really work, as long as there is an immediate response – like I’ve lived a ‘drone line’. If people call up, they need to be dispatched straight away.”
Lorenzo O’Reilly, Rochdale Exchange Shopping Centre manager, added that ‘anti-social behaviour leaves residents feeling unsafe and threatened on their own doorsteps’.
He said: “Although CCTV is in operation across Rochdale, the additional support drones would bring to the police in monitoring offenders would be a welcome resource and would go a long way in ensuring our Rochdale residents live in a safer community.”
The new aerial initiative was announced at a Police and Communities Together (PACT) meeting in Middleton last week.
Supt Chris Hill, from Greater Manchester Police, said: “We have trained pilots who are trialling the use of drones to support frontline policing.
“We will make the public aware of any further developments when we are able to.”
‘There’s a huge problem... with youths tearing up and down on illegal motorbikes’